Colorado law, along with Boulder County government's own policies, makes the county responsible for eradicating noxious weeds from the tens of thousands of acres of county-owned open space, or for at least suppressing and trying to prevent the spread of non-native invasive weeds.

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The state also mandates that counties and municipalities enforce the state's weed-control laws within their local jurisdictions -- a situation that can lead to unincorporated Boulder County's private property owners getting county notices in the mail.

One woman, for example, said Boulder County recently notified her that she had Myrtle Spurge on her property north of Longmont -- one of the weed species the letter said the Colorado Department of Agriculture and the county have identified as posing "an economic and environmental threat to our state."

The woman, who asked not to be identified, said neighbors got similar notices. She said she'd planted the evergreen-like ornamental about 25 years ago as an edging around her lawn after getting it from a relative who was a landscape architect.

A Colorado Department of Agriculture flier the county included with its notification warns that Myrtle Spurge, which is native to Eurasia and has been popular with xeriscapes and rock gardens, "contains a toxic, milky sap which can cause severe skin irritations, including blistering. This plant is poisonous if ingested, causing nausea, vomiting and diarrhea."

"The birds loved it," the woman said. "I haven't had one drop dead."

Boulder County, in its notice, said Myrtle Spurge has been designated by the state and county as type of weed "that must be eradicated when detected in order to protect neighboring communities and the state as a whole," and that it was in the property owner's "best interest to manage the weed immediately to avoid possible enforcement."

The woman said she pulled out the Myrtle Surge after getting the county's letter.

Steve Sauer, Boulder County's weed control supervisor, acknowledged that county weed-control notices aren't popular items when they show up in property owners' mail boxes.

"Some people think we just do it for fun," Sauer said, and some "kind of get the feeling it's an intrusion."

But Sauer and assistant Boulder County zoning administrator Taj Yelton emphasized that the state requires counties to enforce weed-control measures.

The notice sent to the woman with Myrtle Spurge on her property included an aerial photograph and a photo from the roadside with circles indicating the weed's location on the woman's property.

Boulder County officials said the aerial photos weren't specifically taken to spot noxious weeds. They were part of airplane overflights in the late spring and early summer of 2012, with photos taken from about 8,000 feet above the surface for future use in eMapping programs, for identifying potential defensible-space areas that could reduce the risk of wildfire damages, and for other county projects.

Yelton said the county has begun including the aerial photos and roadside photos in the weed-control notices it sends to property owners because it had gotten complaints in the past -- particularly from owners of large rural parcels -- that they couldn't tell from the letters exactly where the offending weeds were located.

Boulder County officials said their weed-control notices are sometimes prompted by members of the general public who report that they think they've spotted a plant that's on the state's or county's weed-eradication or suppression lists.

Yelton said county Parks and Open Space Department employees traveling through the county are also "kind of our eyes out there," telling Land Use Code enforcement staffers when they see weeds during their travels through the county.

"We're at a lot of places in the county," said Sauer, and not just on county-owned properties. He noted that the Parks and Open Space Department is responsible for weed control on 685 miles of rights of way along county-maintained roads.

Yelton and Sauer said the county tries to work with property owners on developing plans for containing and suppressing noxious weeds.

There's no schedule of county fines for non-compliance, Yelton said. But depending on the extent and location of the weed infestation -- and factors such as the plant's threat to dry up nearby water sources -- Boulder County could hire a contractor to go in and remove the weeds and then to bill that cost to the property owner.

"Enforcement is the last resort," Yelton said.

Sauer, the president-elect of the Colorado Weed Management Association, said state and county weed-management policies are based on "what, exactly, we want from the ecosystem" -- one that includes "healthy grasses and shrubs," or one that's been "taken over by non-native species."

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